CHAPTER TEN - MY MATH TEACHER TRIES TO KILL ME (AGAIN)

When I got back to my cabin to pack, my siblings were waiting for me. Lee was beaming, along with the rest of my cabin mates. Will stepped forward.

"Is it true that you're going on a quest?" Will asked.

I nodded. "With Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. We're leaving pretty soon, I have to pack."

No one moved as I walked to my bunk. A backpack was on my bed, filled with clothes and other, various demigod essentials. A bronze dagger like Annabeth's was sheathed in leather, sitting next to the pack.

I turned to face my cabin. "You did this for me?"

Naomi smiled. "Of course we did it for you," she said. "We don't usually get quests. I mean, no one has gone on one in two years, since Luke's quest, but even before that, Apollo campers weren't usually recognized. And you can change that."

A smile crossed my face, stretching as far as it could. "Thank you, seriously. I won't let you guys down, I promise." I shouldered my pack and hesitantly reached out to grasp the knife. "I've never fought with a dagger before, I don't know how to use it," I admitted.

Lee shrugged. "Have Annabeth teach you when you can. Daggers are for quick fighters, ones that have fast instincts. You've clearly shown that you can move quicker than us, at least." He held out a handbag. "I had the Hephaestus cabin whip something up for you. Carla had some design input," he said, nodding to my half-sister. She gave me a wide smile.

It wasn't anything super flashy, which was nice. It was a simple leather purse, bronze and black, with a shoulder strap and a handle on the bag itself. I grabbed it, and started a little when I felt it humming with energy.

"Put it on, see how it feels," Carla said.

I wrapped the strap around my shoulder. It was so light, it felt like almost nothing was there. I admired the detail of the purse. The leather was imprinted with Ancient Greek lettering. "It's amazing," I said. "But what's it for?"

Lee grinned mischievously. With how much he did that, he could have easily been a Hermes kid. He pointed to the handle of the bag. "Wrap your hand around that."

I cocked my head in confusion, but did as he said. As soon as my fingers closed around the purse handle, it changed. It became heavier in my hand, not quite feeling like wood, not quite feeling like metal. The shoulder strap tightened around my torso, widening until it was a leather band measuring two inches across. The back of the strap weighed on my shoulder. I watched as the purse itself morphed into a beautiful recurve bow, stringing itself automatically.

"I...I don't know what to say! How on earth did you manage to do this only this morning?" I ran my hand along the bow. While the upper and lower limbs were black metal, the bowstring was braided celestial bronze ("So it will never fray or snap" Carla said). The grip and arrow rest were both polished oak.

"Beckendorf and I have actually been working on it for a few days. We tried to make a compound bow, but we didn't know the mechanics perfectly," Lee said. "All of us have our own bows, so we thought that our youngest sister should have one of her own, too. Check out the quiver."

I reached behind me. My fingers brushed against the fletching of the arrows. I reached down farther and felt the leather exterior of the quiver.

I pulled out an arrow and admired its quality. The fletching was the standard Apollo colors, gold and white. The arrowhead was celestial bronze, like my bowstring, and the shaft was carbon fiber grade material. I turned the arrow in my hand and watched as the wicked sharp arrowhead glinted in the sunlight that was streaming into the window of the cabin.

"So light," I murmured. "This is wonderful. How can I ever repay you guys?"

Will piped up. "Go out there, and fight some monsters for us. And come back, obviously. You're family now."

I smiled widely, and tackled him in a hug. He tensed for a second in surprise, before returning the gesture.

"You're amazing, all of you!" I gave quick hugs to Lee, Naomi, and Carla as well. The rest of my siblings were fine with a high five or a pat on the back.

"Okay, yes, very happy moment, but you have a bus to catch, Avalon," I heard Lee say from behind me.

I composed myself and nodded. I slipped my sheathed dagger onto my belt, got a better grip on my backpack, and walked out of the cabin door.

*

Will walked me to Thalia's pine tree. By the time I got there, my other quest companions were talking to Chiron.

"Sorry I'm late," I said, when I reached the little party. "I got a new present and was being shown how to use it." I held up the bow in my hand.

Annabeth took it, admiring the detail. "This is incredible," she said. "Who made it for you?"

"Beckendorf and Lee. I guess they had been working on it for a while." I unsheathed my dagger. It was standard issue, there were probably a hundred in the armory. "They also gave me this. I was hoping that you should show me how to use it, sometime."

Annabeth nodded in approval and handed my bow back to me. "Sure. It'll take some practice, though."

Will turned to me. "The quiver is enchanted, so it doesn't run out of arrows. Well, I'm sure that there is a limit, but we couldn't find it before it was time for you to leave." He pointed to a hook on the end of my quiver strap. "When you're done with using it, just hook the bow onto the catch, and it'll go back to a purse."

I did as he said. Sure enough, as soon as the grip touched the hook, it shrank until it was a normal handbag once again. I reached behind me: there was no quiver on my back. It had melted into the shoulder strap.

"Cool," Grover said.

Will gave me a small smile. "Well, good luck, I guess." He pulled me into a quick hug, and then ran down the hill, back towards the cabins.

Chiron, still in wheelchair form, looked at me. "Do you have everything you need, Avalon?"

"I think so. Naomi packed my bag for me, I haven't had the chance to look through it," I said, pulling my backpack off of my shoulder as I did. I peeked inside. I saw an extra set of clothes, a toothbrush, a wad of cash, and a leather pouch that jingled, which had to have been drachmas. I looked in the front pocket and saw metal canteen and a plastic baggie of what looked like blondies. Ambrosia and nectar.

"I've got everything," I said. I looked at the person leaning against Thalia's tree. He was wearing a chauffer's uniform, and had about twenty different eyes that I could see, all crystal blue. "Hey, Argus."

The man grunted in reply. Percy looked at me. "You know him?" he asked.

"Oh sure. He was created by Hera, the queen of the gods, to guard Io, one of Zeus's lovers. According to the story, Hermes came and killed Argus, and Io was released. But Hera felt attachment to Argus, so she turned his many eyes into peacock feathers. That's why one of her sacred animals is the peacock," I concluded.

When I finished, I noticed that no one was talking. Chiron, Argus, and my three companions were all staring at me. Argus made me feel especially uncomfortable, since all of his visible eyes were trained on me. "What?" I demanded.

"I didn't know that version of the myth," Annabeth said. She looked distressed as she admitted that.

"I had a course on Greek mythology, in college. We didn't go into a whole lot of detail on Argus's tale, but that was pretty much what my professor said." I shuffled my feet, uneasy with all of the attention. "We mostly spent a lot of time on the heroes of the myths. Though, we spent a few days on Aphrodite. She would like that," I chuckled.

Chiron cleared his throat. "Yes, well," he said, changing the subject. "Argus will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."

Percy turned around when he heard footsteps coming up the hill. Luke was running towards us. I turned my back on him, pretending to look over my purse-bow.

"Hey!" Luke said, slightly out of breath. "Glad I caught you. Just wanted to say good luck. And I thought...um, maybe you could use these."

I peeked through my eyelashes to see Luke giving Percy a pair of beat up sneakers.

Luke said, "Maia!"

Dove's wings sprouted from the heels of the shoes. Percy dropped the shoes in surprise.

"Awesome!" Grover exclaimed.

"Those served me well when I was on my quest," Luke said. "Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." His expression turned solemn, but I refused to let myself fall for it. I saw what the others couldn't: a wicked gleam in his eye.

Percy blushed slightly. "Hey, man. Thanks," he said.

"Listen, Percy..." Luke shifted his weight. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just...kill some monsters for me, okay?"

Luke offered Percy his hand, which Percy shook gratefully. Luke patted Grover's head, and gave Annabeth a good-bye hug. Without sparing me a second glance, he turned and walked back down Half-Blood Hill.

Percy turned towards Annabeth, who was bright red. "You're hyperventilating," he said.

"Am not."

"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?" Percy demanded. I watched back and forth between the two, like a tennis match.

"Oh...why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?" Annabeth said. She turned on her heel and marched towards the SUV. Argus followed closely behind, jingling his car keys.

Percy picked up the winged shoes. "I won't be able to use these, will I?" he said to Chiron.

Chiron shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air...that would not be wise for you."

Percy hung his head for a moment, before looking up again. This time, his eyes were bright. He rounded on Grover. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"

Grover smiled. "Me?"

I helped him tie the sneakers over his fake feet. "Maia!" he shouted. He managed to hover in the air for a second, and the promptly fell over sideways, the shoes dragging him down the hill towards the van.

"Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"

Grover's response was a strangled cry. I started to laugh as I watched his green rasta cap barely hanging on to a horn.

Percy made to follow, but Chiron caught his arm. "I should have trained you better, Percy. If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason – they all got more training."

Percy shrugged. "That's okay. I just wish–" he stopped himself before he would say something ungrateful.

I reached out and touched Chiron's shoulder. "Sir, the pen."

"Of course!" Our teacher cried. "I can't let you get away without this."

Chiron pulled out a ballpoint pen and handed it to Percy, who looked absolutely unimpressed.

"Gee, thanks."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Don't you recognize it?"

"Should I?"

"Percy," Chiron said, "that's a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."

Percy studied the pen more closely. I saw an idea spark behind his eyes. He took off the cap of the pen, and we watched as it grew in his hand, turning into a bronze, leaf-shaped sword. He turned it in his hands, the leather grip molding to his fingers.

"The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," Chiron said. "Its name is Anaklusmos."

"'Riptide,'" Percy murmured.

"The current that takes its victims by surprise. A fitting name," I said.

"Use it only for emergencies," Chiron warned, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword wouldn't harm them in any case."

"What do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals? How could it not?"

"The sword is celestial bronze, like Avalon's dagger and arrowheads. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they don't kill you first. But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion. They simply are not important enough for the blade to kill. And I should warn you two: as a demigod, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are twice as vulnerable."

"Good to know," I squeaked.

"Now recap the pen," Chiron said, ignoring my statement.

Percy touched the cap of the pen to the tip of his sword, and the blade shrunk until it was a simple ballpoint pen again. He put his deadly writing utensil in his jeans pocket.

"Don't worry," I said, causing his eyes to snap to mine. "You can't lose the pen. It's enchanted to always reappear in your pocket. Go on, toss it."

Percy did so. The pen tumbled through the air and disappeared in the tall grass.

"It may take a few moments," Chiron said. "Now check your pocket."

Percy pulled out the pen. "Okay, that's extremely cool," he said. "But what if a mortal sees me pulling out a sword?"

Chiron smiled at him. "Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."

"Mist?"

"Yeah, Mist," I said. "Remember this morning, when we talked about how I'd really only known you for a few months, but you thought that you had known me for the entire school year? That's Mist. It distorts the vision of humans, but it can also fool demigods sometimes, if it's powerful enough. That's why we didn't see Mrs. Dodds for what she truly was. So if you have your sword out and a mortal sees, their brain will think they're seeing a baseball bat, or a lacrosse stick, or something."

Percy nodded and tucked the pen back into his pocket.

"Percy," I said, gaining his attention once again.

"Yeah?"

"I have to warn you, now, before the quest starts. When we're out there, I won't be able to change what has to happen. I can't warn about the dangers we're to face. All I can do is go along for the ride. The best I'll be able to do is offer insight sometimes. If I try to talk about the future, my tongue will twist up and my voice will stop working. So if you were planning on us just avoiding every obstacle headed our way, that isn't going to happen."

Percy looked a little disappointed, but he shook his head. "I don't care about that. I'm just glad you're coming with us. I'm sorry about how I was acting the last few days. My...my mom wasn't your fault, I know that now." He pulled me into a hug, and I sighed in relief.

I pulled out of his arms. "Okay, I better go down and tell Argus to start the van." But truthfully, I could tell that Percy wanted to talk to Chiron alone. I didn't mind, I knew what he was going to say, anyways.

I watched from the window of the van as Percy and Chiron conversed. Then Percy made his way downhill, and Chiron got out of his wheelchair, raising his bow over his head in farewell.

Percy got into the van. I turned to our other companions. "Well, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

*

I watched as the rolling hills and tall trees made way for flattened farmland, and watched as that made way to suburbia. Other cars joined us on the highway, billboards and shopping malls cropping up everywhere.

Percy nudged me in the side with his elbow. "So far so good," he joked. "Ten miles and not a single monster."

I rolled my eyes in response. Annabeth grimaced. "It's bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain," she scolded.

"Remind me again – why do you hate me so much?"

Annabeth sniffed. "I don't hate you."

"Could've fooled me," Percy scoffed.

"Look...we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."

"Why?"

Annabeth let out a bitter laugh, not bothering to respond. I sighed, and answered for her. "Poseidon and Athena always butted heads. One time, Athena caught your father in one of her temples with a girlfriend of his. That's extremely disrespectful, and the only reason Poseidon did it was out of spite. Another time, Athena and Poseidon both wanted to be patron god of Athens, so they held a competition. The people of Athens liked Athena's gift – an olive tree – over Poseidon's, which was a saltwater spring. So they named the city after her. They've disliked each other ever since."

Percy whistled. "They must really like olives."

Annabeth sneered. "Oh, forget it."

"Now, if she'd invented pizza – that I could understand."

"I said, forget it!"

"Whoa, okay," I said. "Let's ease back on the throttle here, shall we?"

We rode in silence for a little while, and then Percy spoke up again. This time, however, it was directed towards me. "So...how'd you sleep?"

I looked at him, confused as to why he would ask something like that. Then it dawned on me: the dream. "So I was there! I was in the dream!"

Percy let out a sigh, relieved that that was my answer. "I didn't know if that was real, or if my mind was playing tricks on me. It didn't make any sense to me that you'd be in one of my dreams, especially that one."

Annabeth looked at me, ignoring Percy. "What are you talking about? What dream?"

I explained to her the fight between Zeus and Poseidon, on the beaches of LA. I left out the part about the earth opening up, and the voice. I was too early in the quest to bring that up. Percy didn't question me. Maybe he thought that it freaked me out too much to talk about.

When I was finished, Annabeth looked troubled. She started playing with her hair, curling the blonde strands around her fingers nervously. "Well, the message of the dream is pretty obvious. But as to how you ended up having the same dream as Percy...that I can't explain."

I was about to reply, but then the van came to a stop. Argus turned around in the driver's seat, and pointed out the window. Through the torrent of the rain, I could see that we had reached the bus station.

I sighed, and stood up from my seat. "I guess that's a conversation for another day," I said to Annabeth. "This is our stop."

*

Argus dropped the four of us off at the Greyhound station, the same one Grover and I stood at a week and a half ago. It seemed like years since we had been there. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Percy ripped down a flyer with his face on it. He met my gaze, and shook his head subtly, silently pleading with me to not say anything to Grover and Annabeth.

I turned my eyes away from him and feigned interest in the route map on the wall of the station. Even though it wasn't good that people were looking for him, it made me sad. Were there flyers across the city with my picture on them? Were people looking for me? I doubted it. Chiron said he couldn't find anything on my parents or my sister, which made me think that I didn't have them. Well, I had a mom, obviously, but no dad, and no Sierra.

Grover's voice jarred me from my thoughts. "You want to know why she married him, Percy?"

I looked back to see that Percy was staring across the city, a pained look in his eye. "Were you reading my mind or something?" he asked.

Grover shrugged. "Just your emotions. Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can so that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"

Percy nodded. I moved over to the three of them, but didn't say anything.